Chapter 4 - THE LITTLE GIRL WITH HIS EYES
Four years later, Lily Carlisle was the most determined person Emma had ever met.
She loved strawberries.
Rain boots.
Picture books.
And asking questions no adult could answer quickly enough.
“Mommy?”
Emma looked up from the kitchen counter.
“Yes?”
“Why do clouds move?”
“Because the wind pushes them.”
Lily considered that.
“Who pushes the wind?”
Emma laughed.
“That's a very good question.”
They lived in the same little house outside Burlington.
Emma had opened a bookstore called Willow & Ink.
It was small.
Warm.
Filled with secondhand books, children's stories, and a coffee counter near the window.
The business wasn't making her rich.
But it paid the bills.
And it gave her a life she loved.
Lily attended preschool three mornings a week.
She loved drawing.
And every picture she brought home included three people.
Mommy.
Lily.
And a tall man with dark hair.
One afternoon, Emma found a drawing on the kitchen table.
She looked at it.
“Who's this?”
Lily smiled.
“Daddy.”
Emma froze.
Her heart began pounding.
“Daddy?”
Lily nodded.
“Everyone at school has one.”
Emma sat down.
Lily continued.
“I think mine is tall.”
Emma's eyes filled.
“Why?”
Lily shrugged.
“Because I'm going to be tall.”
Emma laughed through her tears.
That night, after Lily fell asleep, Emma opened an old box.
Inside were photographs.
Daniel and Emma at a bookstore opening.
Daniel holding a stack of novels.
Daniel laughing beside a Christmas tree.
Daniel kissing Emma's forehead.
She stared at the pictures.
Then whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
She didn't know whether she was speaking to Daniel.
Or Lily.
Or herself.
Meanwhile, in Chicago, Daniel Kincaid had never married.
He had dated occasionally.
Worked too much.
Expanded Greyhaven Partners.
And spent four years wondering what had happened to the woman he loved.
He had eventually learned that Emma was safe.
But he respected the distance she had demanded.
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What he didn't know was that he had a daughter.
And that she was growing up with his eyes.
